Posts Tagged 'S20 notice'

The Partner Visa Interview Preparation Guide includes an extensive list of questions likely to be asked by case officers during phone or face to face interview for partner visas. Including onshore 820/801; offshore 309/100 or prospective marriage 309.

This list is extensive and exhaustive. Quite often questions will be asked in relation to statements made by yourself, your partner or witness/reference statements. A case officer may also ask general questions that are completely unexpected.

The objective of case officers conducting interviews in the way they do is to test the accuracy, reliability and credibility of your application and the claims and statements made in them.

More than half of Partner Visa cases lodged with Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) are the direct result of information provided during case officer interviews (phone and face to face).*

The list featured in the Partner Visa Interview Preparation Guide is a reflection of the way interviews are conducted. A case officer may ask some questions, such as in relation to family members then switch to something completely different, then soon after switch back to asking questions about family members.

Case officer are always looking out for evidence of fake or ‘sham’ marriages that are arranged for migration purposes. This is technically termed a ‘contrivance’ and case officers seek to compile a list of anything that hints of a contrivance. This will prompt further investigation, leading case officers to assess the application as grant or refusal.

Section 20 Notice Student Visa

The section 20 notice provides legal guidelines for Immigration officers to following when commencing visa cancellation. The guidelines must be followed to protect the rights of the visa holder.

Australian law provides for fair and proper treatment of students by education providers (schools, colleges, universities, etc) in respect to their visas. Section 20 notice is the formal communication from the school that they are required to inform Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) of a change in circumstances that should result in a cancellation of a student visa.

The notice should specify

– The reason for the breach of visa conditions (non-payment of fees, poor attendance or academic performance, etc)

– Requirement for the student to attend an interview with a DIBP official within 28 days of receipt of the notice.

How to stop section 20 cancellation?

It is important to act at the time you receive a section notice of intention to cancel you visa.

You need to respond to grounds of cancellation made by the department in the time required to do so. You need to address the specific breach of condition or other alleged misconduct.

You must also bear in mind that not all breaches of condition can be successfully appealed and turned back.

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HOW DO DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION CASE OFFICERS ASSESS FOR BOGUS DOCUMENTS?

As Mentioned in Part 1 of this series, heavy penalties are now being introduced by DIBP for people found to have submitted — knowingly or otherwise — false or misleading documents or proven to have filled in forms with incorrect information. PIC 4020 rules now allow for restrictions on making further visa applications of up to 10 years to be applied to individuals caught out submitting false or fraudulent — and in some cases just plain wrong — information and documentation.

The following are insights into how departmental case officers assess documents and information for falseness.

Documents such as Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) and Statutory Declarations are used extensively in partner visa applications in particular. These are legal documents so they need to be treated carefully and with a view to ensuring that no false or misleading information is contained within. Signatures are rigorously checked by assessing officers and cross matched with databases within the DIBP and in some cases cross departmental databases in Australia and overseas.

Forms are also checked for how many different hands have written information into individual questions. Recurring signatories are flagged for further investigation and could be the trigger for an eventual refusal.

Registraiton of notaries are also checked for current status ‘at time of application’. Unregistered notaries, agents or service providers, such as Marriage Celebrants, could render the document INVALID.

Be sure to check the current state of registration of any service provider you engage for your visa application.

If unsure, as always, seek professional migration advice from a MARA registered migration agent.

HOW DO DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION CASE OFFICERS ASSESS FOR BOGUS DOCUMENTS?

Bogus documentation is dealt with in s97 of the Migration Act (1954). Bogus documents are defined as being false in a material particular, which basically means documentation that is telling a lie or hiding the truth.

The Act defines a bogus document thus

‘in relation to a person, means a document that the Minister reasonably suspects is a document that:

(a) purports to have been, but was not, issued in respect of the person; or

(b) is counterfeit or has been altered by a person who does not have authority to do so; or

(c) was obtained because of a false or misleading statement, whether or not made knowingly’

The Australian government is presently stepping up efforts to crackdown on all types of migration fraud, such as fake passports and personal identification documents. Cutting edge fraud detection technology and data matching across government departments and with international agencies is further assisting the Department with this aim of reducing, if not eliminating, all forms of migration fraud.

Aside from measures to detect fraudulent visa applications, the Australian government also announced recently the increase in penalties for persons found to be submitting bogus documentation (under the PIC 4020 rule) to dis-allow an individual from applying for another substantive visa for 10 years.

It is also important to note, that ignorance is no protection under the law.

Whether you knowingly or unwittingly submitted information or documents that were false, you can still be liable for this 10 year exclusion penalty.

It is therefore CRITICAL that when you are making application for an Australian visa that all documents (including questions you answer on application forms) submitted to the Department in support of applications are true, genuine and accurate.

If you are not sure, consult a professional migration agent or lawyer.

The following are some simple insights into the way DIBP officers deal with supporting documents and evidence when reviewing your application.

NOTE: Recent MSI (Migration Series Instruction) 292 states that there is no power in migration legislation to refuse an application because the applicant ‘may not be who they say they are or may have presented a bogus document’.

1. Rules in preparing and handling official documents – Birth, Death, Marriage Divorce Certificates – There are local ideosyncrasies and peculiarities with uch official documents. When submitting your application it will help to point this out and explain the differences that may exist. This will help to remove doubts about authenticity of documents and avoid suspicion that you are giving ‘a bogus document’.

Think of other corroborating evidence such as baptismal certificates, local religious or government registries. Be aware that the Department is aware that corruption is a problem in many local official offices. There are limits upon case officers over how deeply they can delve into your past, so if you feel the Department is breaching your privacy rights, consult a legal professional.

Like with any type of visa application, and more generally in your dealings with the Department, it is important to think outside the box and to try to pre-empt the moves of the case officer before they make a decision not favorable to you. It is a good idea to consult with a good migration agent or lawyer on this point if you do not already have an appointed representative.